Chapter 71 – A Group of Survivors
Inside the quiet police box.
I opened my mouth, shaking my head a little nervously at the sight of the blade stained with black blood and flesh that had splattered a lot as it cut into the rotten zombie skin.
“Is there anyone who knows anything about this place or zombies?”
When I asked this question out of the blue, the survivors who were scared and just stared at me blankly looked at each other and looked for someone in particular.
Someone who caught people’s attention had muscles showing through their clothes as if they had worked out like Jihyuk, and even had a dragon tattoo under the forearm that filled the sleeves of a short-sleeved T-shirt.
Anyone who saw it could roughly guess that the man who reigned like the king of this place was that man.
“Um… Uncle?”
As he had suffered the effects of time, he looked like he was in his late 30s.
If we were to exaggerate a little, it would be safe to say that he is in his 40s.
Despite this, I didn’t think it was a good idea to call him “Hyung” In a friendly manner, so I just called him “Uncle” As he appeared.
“Huh… !”
“Oh, crazy… !”
The problem was that calling him like this wasn’t the right answer, and the reaction of those around him was unusual.
As if I had uttered a forbidden word, the people around me were shocked and broke into a cold sweat.
Likewise, the man who called me ‘uncle’ stiffened his face and made an expression of displeasure.
“Ah… Aren’t you old enough to be called ‘uncle’? If so, I sincerely apologize.”
I called it as I saw it, but I didn’t know if it would be a mistake.
Still, if the person sounded offended, I had nothing to say because it was my fault.
When the shocking reality that he might not really be old enough to be called an uncle despite his appearance his came before my eyes, I apologized, but he was still frowning, as if hearing my apology did not make him feel any better.
“Haa… ”
Soon, I let out a deep sigh.
He already had a scary look, but when he even sighed, the people around him just started shaking in fear.
His eyes began to look at me closely.
While I could feel the deep gaze his scanning everything from head to toe, I just stayed still, as if it was no big deal and said, “If you want to look, just look.”
“Is that… A real gun?”
It would be clear that the sword was real, as I had clearly seen it with my own eyes chopping up zombies with the sword, but the automatic rifle on my back seemed to be completely indistinguishable whether it was real or fake, and I was being asked a direct question as to whether it was real.
To be honest, the world is full of zombies, and even mutated zombies have appeared and the world has been destroyed, and the world has gone crazy. Who would foolishly take a toy gun and boldly walk around the dangerous outdoors where zombies run wild?
An intelligent person might be scared by a replica gun that looks like a real gun, but a gun that looks like a real gun is not even a threat to zombies, who have no intelligence and only an ugly desire to eat humans.
Unless you keep carrying it around in case you encounter survivors like this.
“Yes. It’s a real gun.”
It just tells you that it’s a real gun. He said it without even showing evidence of firing a gun so that anyone would know that it was a real gun.
“Can you show me?”
The man speaks as if he is asking me to hand him the gun, but I just shake my head.
“What should I trust and give you?”
It is an established theory.
As the world is destroyed, the law and order system that manages people collapses in an instant and cannot rise again, so even a woman with a pure and good impression must be careful again and again.
But, well, even if he was holding a gun, it seemed like he could be easily suppressed from this distance, so there wouldn’t be a big problem, but there was something in case.
Anyway,
“So do you know anything?”
I wanted to quickly get the information I wanted and move on right away.
The man who didn’t know this said this with a smile on his face.
“I know, but why should I tell you that? For nothing in return?”
I was astonished when he reacted calmly, perhaps because he had forgotten that I was holding a sword and a gun.
You must have clearly seen that I put aside the gun and slaughtered a horde of zombies all by myself, but I don’t know why I did that.
They must have thought that since I am alone and they are many, they can overcome me even if it means making sacrifices.
To be honest, no matter how overwhelming the weapon is, there is nothing wrong with the quantity.
But since I not only have a weapon but also a status window, his reaction just feels funny.
“Is that so…”
I completely understand why they want to gain the upper hand and get something out of me.
They are cutting zombies with kitchen knives without any proper weapons, but someone is holding a long sword as well as a gun, one of the inevitable elements of modern weapons, so it is natural to covet them.
But even if you covet it, you have to look at the other person before paying it.
“Then I will ask you again. Only those who can answer my question please raise their hands. I will save only that person.”
As they took their stances and raised their swords, the survivors swallowed dry saliva and watched their boss’s thoughts.
He still looked at me, paying no heed to the gazes of his subordinates, and then burst into laughter.
“Just kidding. Just kidding. I’ll tell you, so why don’t you put your sword in it? It’s scary, man.”
“…”
Was it really a joke?
To me, it seemed sincere.
It felt like I backed away obediently because I wasn’t afraid and wanted to fight right away, but I didn’t want to go back with a confused mind after cutting someone down just because I thought a good thing was a good thing, so it was a good thing.
“That’s a good thing.”
“Yes, that’s right. But did you really intend to fight?”
“Well, if necessary.”
“Puuuuu…!”
He bursts out laughing again.
“This is it. Did I almost provoke a dangerous guy?”
Is this also part of a joke?
“Well, okay. First, I’ll tell you everything I know.”
Fortunately, he obediently agreed to tell me about this place.
“Good.”
There was no reason to refuse, so I nodded and listened to the man.
Like that.
“Okay, this is everything I know right now.”
“…”
After a really short and concise explanation, I tapped the sharp blade of the sword with my finger with a disapproving look on my face.
“Why. Don’t you like it?”
He was asking if there was anything he said that he didn’t like.
You don’t like it? Isn’t it natural?
“Well… I see.”
They only gave me useless information, information that was of no help to me even if I knew it or not.
Mutant zombies have a different form from regular zombies, so if they had seen them, they would have told me, but even if they had seen them, they might not have told me.
I looked at the man’s face looking at me with eyes full of interest.
Is that face really hiding something from me? I thought about it seriously, but there was no way I would notice as I have no skills in this area.
I am because it makes no sense to hide the existence of mutant zombies in the first place.
“Have you ever seen a mutant zombie?”
“What… ? Mutant zombie?”
The man listened to what I said and thought about it with a face that said he was truly hearing this for the first time.
“What is that? Are there things like that going around?”
Even the people around him started to get upset at his words.
I was lamenting the fact that even regular zombies would die from the hardships of living in a destroyed world, but there were also mutant zombies.
“What does it look like? And how is it different from a zombie?”
Rather, a situation was created where he asked me a question.
“It just looks strange. At first glance, it looks like a mutant zombie. It’s really strong.”
“…”
When I talked about strength rather than appearance, his expression his hardened.
“I’m going crazy.”
If nothing else, he sighed with a face that said he had never even thought about mutant zombies.
“Whoa…”
He looks at me with a sigh.
“It’s Kim Min-sik.”
“Yes?”
“My name is Kim Min-sik. We can’t stay without knowing each other’s names forever, right? So, tell me your name too.”
There is a point.
I thought it would be okay to tell him my name, so I told Kim Min-sik my name.
“Han Jaewon.”
“Is that so? Yes, Jaewon.”
“Yes.”
“Do you have somewhere to go?”
When he suddenly asked if I had a place to go, I tilted my head and expressed my doubts.
“I think you’re alone. Why don’t you come with us?”
It was very strange to see him endlessly trying to include me in his group.
What do you believe in and why are you trying to take me?
Ah…
Belatedly, I remembered the sword in my hand and the guns on my back.
Well then.
It is clear that Kim Min-sik’s intention is to take me to their base and wait for me to let down my guard.
To take the weapon away from me as soon as there is an opportunity.
Something… It’s fun.
